Syndicate

April 13, 2009 -- For the fourth time in forty years, troops have opened fire on pro-democracy demonstrators in Bangkok. Each time, the aim has been the same: to protect the interests of the conservative elites who have run Thailand for the past 70 years.

For those watching the cold-blooded murder by soldiers on the streets of Bangkok, it may be tempting just to assume that the present chaos is merely about different coloured T-shirts and supporters of different political parties, as though they were mirror images of each other. This is not the case.

What we have been seeing in Thailand since late 2005 is a growing class war between the poor majority and the old elites. It is of course not a pure class war. Due to a vacuum on the left in the past, millionaire and populist politicians like Thaksin Shinawatra have managed to provide leadership to the poor. The urban and rural poor, who form the majority of the electorate, are the ``Red Shirts''. They want the right to choose their own democratically elected government. They started out as passive supporters of Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai government. But they have now formed a brand new citizens’ movement, for what they call “real democracy”. For them, “real democracy” means an end to the long-accepted “quiet dictatorship” of the army generals and the royal palace. This situation allowed the generals, the king's advisors in the Privy Council and the conservative elites to act as though they were above the constitution. Les majeste (which outlaw ``insulting'' -- criticism of -- the monarchy) laws and intermittent repression have been used to silence opposition. Ever since 2006, these elites have blatantly acted against election results by staging a military coup, using the courts to twice dissolve Taksin's party and by backing mob violence by the anti-democratic royalist ``Yellow Shirts''. The present misnamed Democrat Party government led by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was manoeuvred into place by the army.

Most of those in the Red Shirt movement support Taksin for good reasons. His government put in place many pro-poor policies, including Thailand's first ever universal health-care system. Yet the Red Shirts are not merely Taksin puppets. There is a dialectical relationship between Taksin and the Red Shirts. His leadership provides encouragement and confidence to fight. Yet the Red Shirts are self-organised in community groups and some are showing frustration with Taksin's lack of progressive leadership, especially over his insistence that they continue to be “loyal” to the crown.

Over the past few days, the Red Shirts have shown signs of self-leadership to such an extent that the old Red Shirt politicians are running to keep up. A republican movement is growing. Many left-leaning Thais like myself are not Taksin supporters. We opposed his human rights abuses. But we are the left wing of the citizens' movement for real democracy.

The Yellow Shirts are conservative royalists. Some have fascist tendencies. Their guards carry and use firearms. They supported the 2006 coup, wrecked Government House and blocked the international airport last year. Behind them were the Thai army. That is why troops never shot at the Yellow Shirts. That is why the present, Oxford- and Eton-educated Thai Prime Minister has done nothing to punish the Yellow Shirts. After all, he appointed some to his cabinet.

The aims of the Yellow Shirts are to reduce the voting power of the electorate in order to protect the conservative elites and the “bad old ways” of running Thailand. They see increased citizen empowerment as a threat and propose a “New Order” dictatorship, where people are allowed to vote, but most MPs and public positions are not up for election. They are supported by the mainstream Thai media, most middle-class academics and even NGO leaders. The NGOs have disgraced themselves over the last few years by siding with the Yellows or remaining silent in the face of the general attack on democracy. Despite being well meaning, their lack of politics has let them down and they have been increasingly drawn to the right.

When we talk about the “palace” we have to make a distinction between the king and all those who surround him. The king has always been weak and lacking in any democratic principles. The palace has been used to legitimise past and present dictatorships. As a “stabilising force”, the monarchy has only helped to stabilise the interests of the elite. The immensely wealthy king is also opposed to any wealth redistribution. The queen is an extreme reactionary. However the real people with power among the Thai elites are the army and high-ranking state officials.

If one is to understand and judge the violent acts which have been taking place in Thailand, we need a sense of history and perspective. Perspective is needed to distinguish between damaging property and injuring or killing people. With this perspective, it is clear that the Yellow Shirts and the army are the violent ones. A sense of history helps to explain why Red Shirt citizens are now exploding in anger. They have had to endure the military jackboot, the repeated theft of their democratic rights, continued acts of violence against them and general abuse from the mainstream media and academia. If they continue to resist, cracks may appear in the army. During the past four years Thai citizens have become highly politicised. Ordinary soldiers, recruited from poor families, support the Red Shirts.

The stakes are very high. Any compromise has the risk of instability because it will satisfy almost no one. The old elites might want to do a deal with Taksin to stop the Red Shirts from becoming totally republican. But whatever happens, Thai society cannot go back to the old days. The Red Shirts represent millions of Thais who are sick and tired of military and palace intervention in politics. At the very least they will want a non-political constitutional monarchy. It is hoped that the Red Shirts will continue to move to the left during this round of struggle.

Looking at Thailand’s crisis: some basics

By Giles Ji Ungpakorn

April 13, 2008 -- When watching and commenting on the recent events in Thailand, observers need to hold on to some basic principles. These are:

1. No government anywhere in the world has the right to use troops to gun down protesters in the streets, especially when they are not carrying firearms. The Abhisit government's use of the army to kill people in cold blood is an outrage. It is not “restraint” nor “the application of the Rule of Law”. It puts the Thai government on the same level as the Burmese junta and its aims are the same too ... to hang on to illegitimate power and protect the interests of the privileged.

2. If observers want to pontificate about the “Rule of Law”, then they must first denounce the illegal military coup of 2006, the lack of partiality and accountability among the judiciary in dissolving the elected parties of government, the illegal seizure of Government House and the airports by the misnamed royalist Peoples' Alliance for Democracy (PAD), the use of firearms and bombs by the PAD, the illegal bribes and threats to manoeuvre the Democrat Party into power, the illegal government-backed Blue Shirt gangs, who carried firearms and the illegal and extra-constitutional role of the palace and the king's advisors in frustrating the functioning of democracy. None of the above cases have been punished.

3. There is a clear line between democracy and dictatorship. “Thai-style democracy” is an elite myth. The Yellow Shirts have repeatedly failed to respect the democratic wishes of the majority of the population. They want more appointed public positions and less power to the electorate. They want a “New Order”. They want censorship. They back the draconian lese majeste law which stifle the basic right to freedom of speech. The Red Shirts may not be angels, but they want a genuine democratic process without interference from the military, the king's advisors or the palace. They would prefer to use the more democratic constitution of 1997, rather than the present one drafted by the military.

4. The anger of the Red Shirts over the past few days did not come out of nowhere. Since 2006 the majority of Thais have continually been abused politically by the elite Yellow Shirts, the mainstream media and middle-class academics. When pictures of Red Shirts smashing the PM's car are shown, it is dishonest and bad journalism not to explain this.

5. The majority of Red Shirts support Taksin, not because they like to “hero worship”, but because his government brought in a universal health-care system and other pro-poor measures. The Democrat Party and the Yellow Shirts opposed these policies all along and knew that they couldn't win popular elections as a result. This is why they wanted a coup.

6. Most of the Thai elite are corrupt, especially army generals and politicians. Why single out just Taksin? We need to punish them all or none at all.

7. The entire Thai elite support the use of state violence, whether it be in the [mainly Muslim] south of Thailand, in the ``war on drugs'' or against unarmed protesters. Taksin has to take responsibility for gross human rights abuses while he was prime minister. So does the rest of the elite, including Abhisit and the generals. There is a long history of Thai state crimes and we need to challenge this. We can start with denouncing the cold-blooded murder by troops on the streets of Bangkok this April.

[Giles Ji Ungpakorn worked in the faculty of political science,
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. He was forced to leave
Thailand after being charged under Thailand's anti-democratic les
majeste laws.He is an activist
with the socialist Turn Left Thailand group. Visit http://www.pcpthai.org/ and http://wdpress.blog.co.uk/.]

Red Shirts shut down the ASEAN summit

April 10, 2009 -- In
Pattaya, demonstrators -- members of the National
United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), aka Red Shirts --
broke the police cordon around the hotel where the ASEAN (Association
of South-East Asian Nations) summit was to be held, demanding the
resignation of the illegitimate government. The Thai government
responded by declaring a state of emergency in Pattaya. The summit was
cancelled.

Thai
Red U.K., the association of Redshirts in Britain, condemns the
declaration of a State of Emergency by the illegitimate government of
Abhisit Vejjajiva. We condemn the Military’s use of tanks and live
ammunition against protestors. We say no to another coup. We also
condemn the arrest of Redshirt leaders and demand that all of them be
released. We are concerned by the creation, by pro-government
politicians, such as Newin Chitchorp, of armed Blueshirted thugs, who
have attacked pro-democracy demonstrators. The government should resign
immediately to allow genuine democratic elections to be held as a
matter of urgency. This would be a first step in allowing for a
peaceful resolution of the long-running crisis.

Why the Redshirts are not merely a mirror image of the Yellowshirt Royalists

It
is tempting for those watching the Thai events to merely conclude that
the Redshirt protests are merely a mirror image of the Yellowshirt
Royalists who seized the international airports late last year. There
can be nothing further from the truth.

The Yellowshirts

The
Yellowshirt Royalists built the PAD, a movement with worrying fascist
tendencies. Since 2006, they have demanded that Thai Democracy be
scrapped in favour of a “New Order” dictatorship. They have
consistently claimed that the majority of Thais, especially the poor,
are too ignorant to be allowed the right to vote. They welcomed the
2006 military coup, seized Government House and blocked Parliament with
armed gangs claiming to be “fighting for the King”. Late last year,
with the collusion of the Army, they took control of Thailand’s
international airports and nearly caused a war with Cambodia. They are
an integral part of the present (mis-named) Democrat Party government.
This government does not represent the democratic wishes of the
majority of Thais. It only came to power after the courts were used as
political tools of the Yellowshirts to twice dissolve the most popular
political party. The Army then bribed and threatened shady politicians
like Newin Chitchorp to change sides. (This politician was named after
the Burmese military dictator Newin!)

The
Yellowshirts represent an elite, reactionary, alliance between the
Army, the Palace and Privy Council, the PAD and the Democrat Party.
They are fearful that their privileges will be jeopardised by further
empowering the poor, who make up most of the electorate. The Democrat
Party has never succeeded in winning a majority of the popular vote.
Unfortunately the majority of Middle-Class academics and many N.G.O.
leaders also support the Yellowshirts and welcomed the 2006 coup which
ripped up the democratic Constitution of 1997.

During
the violent Yellow shirt protests of 2008, the entire Thai state
apparatus and media supported them. The PAD wrecked the interior of
Government House, staged violent attacks on the police and created much
damage to the economy by blockading the airports. Yet no PAD leader has
been punished for this use of violence and none have been condemned by
the Thai mainstream media or by academics and N.G.O. leaders. The
Military have never been punished for their illegal coup or their
rampant corruption. Talk now of “respecting the law” by Thai PM
Abhisit, is therefore hypocritical nonsense.

The Redshirts

The
Redshirts are a pro-democracy movement. Many support the policies of
former PM Thaksin Shinawat because his government provided the first
ever Universal Health Care system and other pro-poor measures. His
party has repeatedly won elections, even after the coup. However, the
Redshirts are not just supporters and puppets of Thaksin. They are
ordinary citizens, most of whom believe passionately in freedom and
democracy. There are many Redshirts who are not supporters of Thaksin.
It is also a movement of the urban and rural poor, people who have had
their democratic rights stolen from them by the Yellowshirts.

Today,
in addition to fighting for democracy, the Redshirts are starting to
question the “silent dictatorship” of the King’s advisors in the Privy
Council. They have broken a decades old taboo about the Monarchy.
Significant numbers are also becoming Republicans, while many still
want a genuine Constitutional Monarchy which is not involved in
politics.

The
Redshirts do not have an armed guard like the Yellow or Blue shirts.
They are not rich people who can protest for days on end without going
to work. They have made great efforts to avoid violence, despite being
attacked. The behaviour of Redshirts in surrounding the Prime
Minister’s car or breaking into the hotel in Pattaya to close down the
Asian Summit, did not result in serious injury or serious damage to
property. This is in contrast to the actions of the Yellowshirts.

Both
in terms of “Means” and “Ends” the Red and Yellow shirts are opposites.
We call on all freedom-loving people throughout the world to support
the fight for Democracy in Thailand. We support the recent comments by
Redshirt Jakrapop Penkair, when he says that the Thai people have the
right to mount a Peoples’ Struggle for Democracy.

BANGKOK, Apr 12 (IPS) - The dramatic scenes that unfolded at a regional summit forcing its cancellation
Apr. 11 point to a disturbing possibility that this kingdom is heading for a long
period of turmoil - pitting the conservative political establishment against the
rage of the urban and provincial poor.

The four-month-old coalition government, headed by the Democrat Party,
was forced to call off the two-day, 16-nation summit after thousands of
anti-government protesters broke through a wall of police and army
personnel guarding the venue and swarmed into the conference halls.

In this loss to the country, anyone or any group of people that announces a
victory should be regarded as the true enemies of Thailand, the visibly
shaken Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said at a press conference in the
aftermath of the ruined summit. "Whatever status I have, I will never allow
these people to become influential."

The summit had brought together leaders of countries who belong to a 10-
member regional bloc, the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN),
and leaders from its economic and dialogue partners.

ASEAN’s members include Brunei, Burma (or Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and the summit’s host,
Thailand. The bloc’s partners range from China, Japan and South Korea to
Australia and India.

The scene of anarchy that was played out in Pattaya, a resort town south of
Bangkok where the leaders were to talk, was, in a sense, the final act of a
regional meeting that had struggled to get underway due to the political tug-
of-war that has gripped this country since the September 2006 coup.

The 14th ASEAN summit had to be postponed twice late last year after the
coalition government of the day, led by the People Power Party (PPP), was
crippled due to a protest movement that drew thousands of yellow-shirt
wearing followers from the urban elites who openly advocated pro-royalist,
conservative and right-wing views.

The "yellow-shirts" took to the streets in late March 2008 and then stormed
the prime minister’s office, Government House, in August and occupied it for
over three months. In late November, they gave the PPP government its
bloodiest nose by forcefully taking over Bangkok’s largest international
airport, bringing all airline traffic to a halt.

The Democrat Party, the opposition in 2008, got its chance to govern and
host the summit in 2009 due to fortunate circumstances. In December, the
PPP-led coalition, which had won convincingly at a late 2007 general
election, was disbanded in a controversial ruling by a superior court. The
Democrats filled the void thanks to backroom deals involving the country’s
powerful military and large sums of money reportedly paid to
parliamentarians to join the new coalition.

This shift of power hardly impressed supporters of the United Front of
Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), who stormed the ASEAN summit and
forced its cancellation over the weekend. Supporters of this protest
movement are recognised by the trademark red shirts that they wear and
their slogans against the Democrat Party-led coalition, declaring that it "lacks
legitimacy."

The "red shirts" also stand out for their open support of former Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by the military in the 2006 putsch and is
on the run in exile to avoid arrest for breaking conflict-of-interest laws and
corruption charges.

Thaksin led a government that won successive parliamentary elections in
2001 and 2005 with unprecedented majorities. He still has deep support
among the urban and provincial underclass due to a raft of pro-poor policies
he implemented during his five-and-a-half-year term in office.

The PPP drew similar support due to its strong ties with the deposed Thaksin.
Its electoral triumph in the late 2007 poll saw Thailand making a tentative
return to democracy after being under the rule of a junta for 16 months.

But, for the second time in less than two years the electoral choice of the
country’s largest constituency - the urban and provincial poor - was under
attack by the political conservative forces that revile Thaksin and his
associates. While it was the army that played its part through the country’s
18th coup in 2006, in 2008 it was the courts, issuing controversial and, at
times, farcical judgements.

The ruling Democrat-led administration is being buffeted by the rage that
has burst to the surface from this disenfranchised constituency. The "red
shirts" have taken to the streets since late March and have begun to repeat
some tactics of the "yellow shirts" - holding round-the-clock protests
outside Government House.

Among them are people like Pricha Jaibanpad, a taxi driver from the northern
city of Chiang Mai. This 48-year-old was involved in a form of civil
disobedience on Thursday that demonstrated the muscle of the marginalised:
nearly 100 taxi drivers parked their vehicles across the streets of a busy
intersection, clogging traffic and bring parts of Bangkok to a standstill.

"Many taxi drivers have come. They feel it is their responsibility because of
the love for democracy," said Pricha, standing by his car that had a coat of
canary yellow and green paint and carried a banner in Thai, which read: "Elite,
aristocrat policy exploits human dignity."

The show of force by the "red shirts" in the recent weeks to shake up the
conservative political establishment that the Democrat-led administration
presides over is already being viewed as a watershed moment in Thai politics.

"The country has had political mobilisations against governments going back
to 1973. But what is new is that it is not the Bangkok middle class trying to
force a government out of power; for the first time, it is the up-country
people trying to push the government in Bangkok out," says Michael Nelson,
a German academic who has written extensively on Thai politics.

The emerging "red shirt" movement goes against a view that the urban elite
has long held, that they determine the country’s national agenda, Nelson
explained in an interview. "There is a Thai saying that the up-country people
vote governments in and the Bangkok people topple the governments."

He views this sea change as a "sign of enormous political progress" of a
constituency that was often sneered at by the elites as being passive,
uneducated and not interested in politics. "They want to have more share to
determine the national agenda."

It would be nice if what the writer had a more realistic take on what's is going on in Thailand.He makes good points but his support for the reds is really absurd.
Thaksin good for the poor?
Universal health care in Thailand means that you end up to be treated like shit in the hospitals.
I had a very personal experience: my nice(age 28) ended up in an "universal health care" hospital.It was night and she was getting zero assistance; the nurse told her husband to "prepare himself(=she was going to die).At 4 a.m.informed by the situation,I had her removed to a private clinic.In two days she was out and well(she just needed some medical attention and oxhigen, something she was not getting in the 'free hospital").
You get it? In the private place you get well in the other you DIE!
Do not confuse non thais that may believe there is real medical assistance.

If so they could believe the new PM who says that they are helping the elderly population.Yes the new governent does give 500 baht per month to old people(18$ !)
So,please get real and stop daydreaming.Yes the farmers and poors are supporting Thaksin, an ex cop who became a billionaire, a first class capitalist scoundrel;the problem is that they have no real political conscience and they are used.

Sometimes it is better NOT TO do anything.At the moment this is probably what radical socialists should do here.Let the two "enemies" fight,keep real and try to explain that there is an alternative(or is it a dream,or both?).
You must know that political education is what is needed.There are small things that can be done(to undermine the system),but...they are really minimal.
Basically,I think you should not support the "reds".The fact that they are the poors etc is not the principal point.

Normally poor people do not go hospital that is non business with hospitall and waste time..except they almost die like my father, he got stoke in brain. He carry health card card (30Bt) and doctor & nurse take care him same every patience.. My friend is nurse that she say.. hospital use the same medicine..
Finally he die.. it is not because doctor or nurse.. it is his time..
But if he do not carry the health care card.. i have to pay at least 200000 Bt for his time in ICU 7 days.
After Taksin has policy to help poor people by give budget by head therefore all hospital, clinic come to my home.. they ask my mom and dad to change house number register to their area.. this thing never happen in thailand.. doctor and nurse come to see poor people at home... poor people head have value..
what your think? How much he take a tax from government.. How much he pay back to people.. I calculate 0.0000000001% and 99.9999999999999%

Thai media plays a crucial role inciting hatred toward the Red shirt movement. They were portrayed as a bunch of thugs or troublemakers. News about them was all bad (actually bad). This can only legalize military action against unarmed people.

When referred to the military, where were they during the seizures of 2 airports by PAD? After all, I do not think it is a normal practice to use military troops to control the crowed (they all armed with M16, of course).

Actually everybody knows that Red shirt people's have never been using violent or weapons to fight for democracy.
Since April 8 2009, they have shown all the world that they just uses the power of people rights. As you can see that they are more than five thousands of them who wants the real democracy with peace. However at night, the government, by the prime minister just have an announcement that they people who came is just around 100,000 and said that their needs are just for some people behide. After the day, he just ignore the people all.

My opinion , I think people must have their own opinion to choose for what they wants, and this is the democracy that they needs which has been misunderstanding by their powered government. I think government should have decide one thing for them in order to stop and ignore and left a thousands of them like nothing happens!!

Moreover, on April 13th 2009. Thai New Year's Day (SongKran Festival) The government choose to use violent to stop and take over the Red Shirt by using a lot s of militaries to take over them. However, in my opinion, the government has many choice to do in order to use violent or crime to the purity people but they just don't do it. I don't understand if the government want to prove that they are came from the rights democracy why don't they decided to make renew the council or he must have resign for the responsibilities. However I am not support this violent by using army with guns, weapons on Thai new year's day. no matter the government will always say that no one killed by this process. That is why we needs UN or some of the process of justice outside country help by check what have been done and to prove that this government has been right of doing so!!

We are thousands of Thais, from Dortmund, Frankfurt, Mainz, Alzey,
Munich, Weimar, Berlin and many other cities. We are committed to true
democracy in Thailand.

After the political upheaval in 1932 by an absolute monarchy to
constitutional democracy can Thailand and the Thai people do not enjoy
real democracy. The right to vote of the people was never respected.
The army has twelve times successful coups perpetrated. Every time the
army has the same reasons for the coups cited: Corruption and majesty
insult. The real cause of the conflict, however, is the attempt by the
former rulers (Army, aristocracy, etc.), the noble and aristocratic
power structure towards increasingly strong democratic development in
the country continue to maintain.

The democratic Constitution of 1997 had its time, the democratic
political system and the civilian government in the country well
stabilized according to democratic rules. Unfortunately, the old rulers
of this democratic development in our country is blocked, to their
power and wealth and not with the Thai people to share. Therefore,
there was a military coup on 19 September 2006.

Now the people want no more coup, and would like their democratic
right is respected. Thaksin is now only history, and plays no important
role in the current democratic movement in Thailand. It is crucial that
a constitution is agreed, in which human rights are enshrined and
democratic basic order is made.

We all know that democracy is not always an ideal form of government, we also know that the world exists no more.

Unfortunately, on 12 and 13 Apr. again in 2009 the democratic
movement of the majority of the Thai population down mercilessly by the
army been beaten. Your own people will turn from a group of rulers
geknechtet. We want the Prime Minister Apisit Vejjajiva, his
government, the army and because of its aristocracy accuse violence
against its own people.

We urge the Thais who live in Germany, to hold together and for
our country and for democracy to fight, so that prosperity for all and
fair opportunity for our children in the future in our country can
emerge.

CNN’s
coverage of the recent mass protests in Thailand has been impressive in
a dismal sort of way. Suspecting that its viewers are unable to cope
with concepts more complex than vivid colours it constantly referred to
clashes between “red shirts ” and the police. To be fair the article to
which I’ve linked does give a helpful “colour code” but that was
entirely absent from any of the TV coverage I saw over three of four
days. The nadir was when Kent Brockman - or someone awfully like him -
interviewed a representative of the United Front for Democracy against
Dictatorship (UFDD). His questioning was along the lines of “if you
chaps in red shirts get your way then those chaps in yellow shirts will
be jolly cross, so why kick up a fuss?” The UFDD person replied “what
is happening in Thailand today is a class struggle. Some leaders of the
movement want to give up but we will go underground and carry on the
class struggle.”

By any reckoning there was enough in
that answer to give the making of an interesting interview. Who wants
to give up and why did they hand themselves into the police? Why do you
say it’s a class struggle? That was not Brockman’s approach. His angle
was that it was a lot of foreigners with unpronounceable names creating
a hoohaa because that’s what they do in those places. I may be
conflating some elements of the torrent of drivel that sounded like it
had been written by the State Department’s press office but the only
bits of the news that the average CNN anchor gets genuinely interested
in is the material about the Obama family’s new pet.

There is much to be indignant about when you watch news reporting that
is this shoddy. The first thing is just how little you learn about
what’s happening in the world from watching CNN news. The excellent
Australian journal Links
which, and this is pure speculation, is run on a couple of quid less
than CNN’s budget gives a lot more information about what is actually
happening.

“Most of those in the Red Shirt
movement support Taksin for good reasons. His government put in place
many pro-poor policies, including Thailand’s first ever universal
health-care system. Yet the Red Shirts are not merely Taksin puppets.
There is a dialectical relationship between Taksin and the Red Shirts.
His leadership provides encouragement and confidence to fight. Yet the
Red Shirts are self-organised in community groups and some are showing
frustration with Taksin’s lack of progressive leadership, especially
over his insistence that they continue to be “loyal” to the crown.”

The second thing is the casual way in
which a major protest movement is presented as a clash over colour
preferences or as trivial as something like soccer. The more unusual
the names involved to the American or European ear the less serious the
analysis that is presented. It’s probably unfair to single out CNN but
it was the channel that I had occasion to see over a few days while the
protests were featuring in its bulletins. Nonetheless it was as good an
example of the mainstream press downgrading mass political activity as
you could wish to find with the added bonus of casual racism.

Hello,
I'm a Thai American living in Chicago. My mother and I were talking about the fighting in Thailand this last year, and I am trying to more fully understand the red shirt, yellow shirt conflict. I came across your article and noticed you don't take an entirely con or pro view of Thaksin. My questions are:
What happened as a result of the questionable Shin Corp and Ample Rich deal--that netted Thaksin's family 73 billion baht ? Also, did Thaksin substantially increase access to health care for the poor? How? What were his public health policies?
I appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions.
Thank you for your help!
Tera

All the free people of the world need to press for reform in Thailand. The very first thing is to declare this last Military Coup as Illegal and re-instate the constitution and hold free elections for all political offices. Thailand's people (as with ALL people) need to have the right to choose their own leaders. Every person should have the right to vote and not have their free will set aside when the military and rich elite feel their hold on the government and their own political power is threatened. I am married to a Thai woman and I have a deep love of Thailand and its people. I want to see true democracy in Thailand. When a group of people , like those who are illegally in control of Thailand now, as well as those who support them, break their own peoples laws to protect their self interests, it is time for all freedom loving people to stand together and demand justice.

I support the Red shirt movement as long as they demand free elections and they do it peacefully. I pray that the will of the majority of Thai citizen's be realized and free elections return.

I am from vancouver,canada and i wanted to say that i supports the Redshirts in their struggle for the working class of Thialand.The present gov. of Thialand needs to be overthrown.The working class in Thialand needs to take political power into their own hands.The working class in Cuba toke political power in 1959 and they still got it despite outside interference in their gov.That is what got to be done everywhere in the world.Capitalism keeps the working class oppressed.With the working class in power things will be done for the good of the people.That will never happen under a capitalist gov.

The movement of Red Shirts was founded shortly after the 2006 coup that removed Thaksin from office following his second landslide election victory. The first campaign of the Red Shirts was focused on defending the 1997 people's constitution - the first in Thailand's history that was drafted in a popular, democratic manner with participation of elected officials from all the regions - against the imposition of the new 2007 constitution, drafted by handpicked people appointed by the military junta.

The grassroots growth of the Red Shirts rapidly increased the size and influence of the group following a series of repressive actions by the government. The country's most popular political party, Thai Rak Thai, was banned by a court ruling in 2007. The elected prime minister Samak Sundaravej was ousted from office for appearing on a cooking show. The People's Power Party, successor to Thai Rak Thai, was then also banned in 2008, and more than 100 democratically elected members of parliament were disqualified from politics for five years.

The understandable anger felt by many Thai citizens after seeing their popular will suppressed was underscored by systemic double standards exercised by the country's judicial system. One constitutional court judge who banned Samak also regularly did paid appearances on radio and taught at a private university.

When the pro-government elite movement, People's Alliance for Democracy, held disruptive rallies, invaded government buildings, and illegally occupied Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport in 2008, there was not one single arrest, trial or conviction. Instead, these same people are on television every day. In comparison, scores of Red Shirts have already been imprisoned, and those arrested in the most recent protests were processed and convicted in improbably swift trials.

It was all the more impressive that tens of thousands of these activists volunteered to sleep outside at the rally site in obvious discomfort, while risking their lives before the coming violence to make their point. They came to Bangkok to remind the ruling elites and the world that they also have constitutional rights as Thai citizens, that their votes should count too, no matter their level of wealth, class, and education.

But the distractions from these basic facts are numerous. The ruling military elite argues that the killing of almost 70 civilians (only one confirmed death of a military officer) over the past month is justified because they are armed - although most often with slingshots, homemade fireworks and bamboo sticks. The ruling military elite talks about the funding of the Red Shirts, as though these people are risking their lives for some reason other than the anger over having their votes stolen.

The unlawful deployment of force used by the Thai authorities against the protesters, their flip-flopping on the issues of elections and their unwillingness to meet the protesters' pleadings for negotiations to avoid violence speaks volumes about their legitimacy to govern.

But the facts speak for themselves, and the demands by the Red Shirts for new elections and real representative government must be dealt with in a sincere and orderly reconciliation effort.

Above all, the Red Shirts simply want the right to vote, have a say in who runs the country and how.

What kind of society when the King Bhumibol ordered his special killer royal army to kill all the red shirts. When every time Thai people ask for democracy, freedom of speech and equal rights. King Bhumibol answer always was the bullets! Stop lese majesty law and abolish the absolute monachy in Thailand.